| Summary: | Abstract Background The CARD family plays an important role in innate immune response by the activation of NF-κB. The aim of this study was to determine the gene expression and to enumerate the protein-expressing cells of some members of the CARD family (CARD9, CARD10, CARD11, CARD14 and CARD15) in patients with IBD and normal controls without colonic inflammation. Methods We included 48 UC patients, 10 Crohn’s disease (CD) patients and 18 non-inflamed controls. Gene expression was performed by RT-PCR and protein expression by immunohistochemistry. CARD-expressing cells were assessed by estimating the positively staining cells and reported as the percentage. Results The CARD9 and CARD10 gene expression was significantly higher in UC groups compared with CD (P < 0.001). CARD11 had lower gene expression in UC than in CD patients (P < 0.001). CARD14 gene expression was higher in the group with active UC compared to non-inflamed controls (P < 0.001). The low expression of CARD14 gene was associated with a benign clinical course of UC, characterized by initial activity followed by long-term remission longer than 5 years (P = 0.01, OR = 0.07, 95%CI:0.007–0.70). CARD15 gene expression was lower in UC patients versus CD (P = 0.004). CARD9 protein expression was detected in inflammatory infiltrates; CARD14 in parenchymal cells, while CARD15 in inflammatory and parenchymal cells. CARD9−, CARD14− and CARD15 − expressing cells were significantly higher in patients with active UC versus non-inflamed controls (P < 0.05). Conclusion The CARD family is involved in the inflammatory process and might be involved in the IBD pathophysiology.
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